Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off??? - SOLVED

[bjflink]

Went fishing this weekend and had a ton of live bait. Everything was working as expected until it wasnt....the pump stopped running, unknown to me, and all my bait died.

The boat is a 2000 306, with a rule 700 gph livewell...all original as far as I can tell.

After trying to diagnose on the water, I noticed that my switch was on, and lit, as indicated by the little green backlight at the switch, but the pump was not running. Back at the dock while cleaning the boat, I heard the pump running and looked in the livewell and saw that in fact, it was working normally, however the switch at the helm was TURNED OFF! The green backlight on the switch was actually lit up though with the switch turned off.

I have no idea what is going here...sounds electrical, but not sure where to start and if anyone has had a similar experience. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Curmudgeon]

Re: Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off???

Corrosion, switch or pump (or both), most likely power since a ground wouldn't turn it on with switch off ...

 

[eppem]

Re: Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off???

In a pinch I have ran my washdown hose into the livewell in the same situation. Save bait on water, fix problem later.

 

[bjflink]

Re: Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off???

Corrosion, switch or pump (or both), most likely power since a ground wouldn't turn it on with switch off ...

From your statement, that would lead me to believe I should start at the switch...would you agree?

 

[bjflink]

Re: Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off???

In a pinch I have ran my washdown hose into the livewell in the same situation. Save bait on water, fix problem later.

I like that idea...didnt think of it at the time. Unfortunately, my washdown pump took a crap on my a few days ago too....I think the pressure cutoff switch is faulty, as the pump is only working intermittently.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Re: Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off???

When it happened to me, it was in the pump. The wiring had corroded and activated the auto' side. Switch position didn't matter, start with the one easiest to reach ... :bang

 

[bjflink]

Re: Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off???

When it happened to me, it was in the pump. The wiring had corroded and activated the auto' side. Switch position didn't matter, start with the one easiest to reach ... :bang

You called it. The wiring was corroded inside the sheath from the pump back a few feet. Gave the wiring a haircut, installed a new Bait Sentry 800 pump, and voila! My only issue now is that the pump doesnt seem very strong. I swapped it, just to test, with a Rule 800 Tournament series, and almost exactly the same performance as the bait sentry. The livewell takes about 2 minutes to fill to the inlet, which is about 1/3 from the bottom of the tank. To fill the other 2/3 of the tank, it takes another 5 1/2 minutes, so its obviously working harder once the head increases. My only concern is that the water wont be replaced fast enough to keep baits healthy. I'm pretty sure the pump I replaced, a rule 700, was the Grady original, and so I cant imagine they did the math wrong on pump size. It just seems a little under-gunned to me.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Re: Livewell Pump Running with Switch Off???

LiveBait Larry (now deceased) said pump should fill a well in about 8 minutes, not sure what an 1100 gph would do to the bait ...